The United Arab Emirates issued a brief alert on Tuesday warning residents of “potential missile threats,” as the Defence Ministry said it had detected missiles “directed towards the country.”
The Interior Ministry urged people to immediately move to a safe location in the nearest secure building because of the prevailing security situation. The alert was lifted shortly afterward.
The Defence Ministry separately confirmed that it had “detected a missile threat directed towards the country,” but did not immediately provide details on the origin of the threat, its intended target or whether any missiles had struck UAE territory.
Tuesday’s warning was the first such alert in months. The UAE issued a false alarm in June and another warning in July over an attack that ultimately did not enter Emirati territory. Before those incidents, the last missile warning had been issued in early May.
The latest alert comes amid renewed security concerns in the Gulf. Tankers linked to the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) have been repeatedly targeted in recent weeks, adding to concerns over the safety of energy infrastructure and shipping in the region.
When the wider Middle East war began on February 28, the UAE was among the countries most heavily targeted by Iranian missile and drone attacks. Nearly 3,000 missiles and drones were directed at the UAE, according to the account provided, more than against any other country in the region.
Following a memorandum of understanding between the UAE and Iran that took effect in June, the UAE reported no further attacks for a period, even as other Gulf states continued to face threats. That understanding has since collapsed.
